House of the Rising Sun
by Nisa-Nii
Summary: Eren Jaeger is a young Hunter finally given his chance to prove to his superiors that he's a viable candidate for the position of Squad Leader in the international organization known simply as the Brotherhood. With this chance comes five new targets; Levi, Petral Ral, Eld Jinn, Oluo Bozado, and Gunther Schultz.


A lot of people advocate the idea that life is up to pure chance; every move you make is luck and probability and pre-determined. The control is not yours to hold. Every decision is for naught and the effort you put forth is worthless as your success- or failure- is already written in stone. And there was no way to deviate from this path.

I, Eren Jaeger, call bullshit. The whole notion was complete bullshit, through and through. We're given a million and one choices each day, every single one leading down another path that branched off into another hundred directions. You are what you make yourself. You are not written in stone. You hold your destiny in your own hands. You forge your own path, and I forged mine when I joined the Brotherhood at the tender age of fifteen, still brimming with anger and hatred and in need of direction.

The path I was on was not a clean nor a safe one, but it was noble. Monsters were more than real- they were your neighbors, your teachers, your classmates. Your childhood nightmares were alive and real and their eradication was our job. We gave the innocent peace of mind at the expense of our lives. My own mother had died at the hands of one of them, a disgusting monster disguised in human skin, and I suppose that was where it all began, this sudden drive and purpose. I had been too weak to save my own mother. I never wanted to feel that way again. To feel helpless- like the situation was beyond salvation. I wanted to cleanse this world of those evils; vampires and werewolves and demons and the living dead. Lay spirits to rest and slay those who would do others harm. I wanted to _protect_ people. To do good things. The corrupt and unrighteous were my targets and I was well trained. My existence revolved around this black-and-white view of the world and I had been more than proud to carry out my new purpose as a Hunter of the Brotherhood.

But was the world always black and white? There was always a clear cut line between good and evil, right and wrong... right?

Did I choose the right path?

* * *

><p>It was late and the alley was dark but I could hear Mikasa a few paces away, muttering into her phone, giving the clean-up crew the "all clear" so we could move on. The corpse of our mission lay at my feet, sprawled across a cooling pool of its own bodily fluids. The strike had been quick. Effortless. I may not be anything special in terms of Hunter status, but my sister Mikasa was a sight to behold.<p>

Even at the top of her class, she wasn't happy- not really. She put on a false smile for me but moments like this, when she thought I wasn't really paying attention, she dropped her guard. I could see her discomfort through the metaphorical veil she kept between us. The tense set of her shoulders as she faced away from me, the irritated shuffle of her feet. She never seemed to settle. Her tone was clipped as she conversed with whoever was on the other end of the connection. I wondered what went through her head on missions like this. Was she missing mom?

I turned my attention back to the body that had been a living, breathing being mere minutes before. It was a girl younger than myself. Her long dark hair had been up in pigtails, now a disheveled bloody mess, and her brown eyes were wide open- fearful even in their last moments. She reminded me of a girl I had grown up knowing in my hometown. She had lived down the road from me and liked superheroes. Her eighth birthday cake had Spider-man on it. We used to walk to school together.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing myself to look at the tips of fangs just barely visible in the street lamp from my right. She had been feeding on missing children from various elementaries across the county before we tracked her down two days ago.

No mercy for the wicked, as was our creed.

"Time to pack up. Armin's team is on their way." Mikasa rejoined me by the body. Her face was rigid as she stared at it, her eyes flicking from the blood on the young girl's face to the torn navy dress. She had owned something similar, once upon a time. There was a heavy silence before the front was back up again; I watched her force her face to relax into a more casual expression, returning her gun to the holster under her jacket. There was no need for it this time. The girl had been slow, young and idiotic with clumsy movements. The Hunter's blade had been her demise.

Target. Not a little girl. Just a target. A monster.

Mikasa passed me on her way to the mouth of the alley. She didn't dare turn around to look at either of us behind her. Was she remembering that night from years ago- the scene we came upon in the dark? The screams we had to muffle and the fear we had to somehow stifle to survive? Was this lifestyle just one horrible memory for her, my loving adopted sister who followed me into this profession out of familial duty? "Let's head back."

My feet made to follow her, but something stopped me. I took in the dank walls of the buildings boxing us in, the slime and dirt, an entrance to the underworld of the city. This would be this little girl's resting place now. Then she would be taken to the labs for testing and experimentation, divided and dissected till she was unrecognizable. A detached sort of sadness befell me. Without thinking I stooped next to the girl's corpse and lowered her eyelids. I felt better, as if she could no longer see me, stare at me accusingly with those childishly wide eyes. _Anna Jenkins, age eleven, _my memory recalled from her file. Wasn't Marco's sister about her age?

She was a murderer. No mercy for the wicked.

Mikasa was staring at me from the alley entrance, expression unreadable in the shadows. Without another word we took to the streets, passing Armin's team on our way out. We promised to save a place for him in the dining hall. We didn't speak on the way back, as was our custom.

* * *

><p>We hadn't really had a home since our mother died when we were kids, not really. Our father had gone missing nearly a year before the incident so with no other relatives to speak of we became wards of the state. When we were accepted into the Brotherhood nearly three years later as initiates we lived at the school, sleeping in a single room with another hundred kids and eating three square meals of questionable substance a day. When you graduated and got to move into your assigned Head Quarters you moved into a slightly larger room with two hundred young adults instead of one hundred sniveling fourteen years olds. They still cried themselves to sleep like the kids at the school did, just for different reasons now.<p>

Head Quarters wasn't that bad. It was on the swanky part of town filled with older gents in expensive suits and office buildings stacked on one another. It was always lit and loud and bustling. A city without sleeping hours. Teenagers subway hopping and college students hitting up bars with middle aged men and women looking to forget their misery. Part of our job was to be inconspicuous to the public eye as we went about our duties; we didn't exactly fit in with our dirty jeans and ratty old shirts, but nor did anyone spare us too much of a glance when we stumbled in from a bad night covered in blood and dirt. We blended just well enough to avoid suspicion.

We came from a small town with one-story houses, two public schools and four stop lights. Possibly five. But here the buildings were literally on top of one another, reaching nearly fifty stories high. It was as though the city just ran out of room and began stacking businesses and homes like crates in a stocking center. HQ was on Fifth Street, closer to the centre of the city than I'd like, and was built on top of an old law firm. Most assumed the building was out of order and up for rent but all of the interested buyers were turned away upon inquiry of cost.

We used the front door, re-locking the chain behind us. The cheesy golden bank of elevators at the back of the lobby still had power running and we opted out of taking the back staircase up to the twenty-third floor.

Nile seemed to be waiting for us when we reached his office- not busy working at 3:37am, just reclining in his chair and waiting for field teams to return. It struck me as creepy. I'd never been fond of Nile. He was off-putting and rude, but beyond that, my intuition had always told me to keep far away from a man like Nile Dawk. Jean and Connie said I was being paranoid.

Nile seemed pleased with our report and dismissed us without too much of a hassle.

Well, dismissed Mikasa.

"I need to speak to you, Mister Jaeger."

The statement startled me and I stopped, mid-turn, and pivoted to face him questioningly. I felt rather than saw Mikasa return to my side. Nile turned his cold eyes to her when she didn't take her leave. "Is there a problem?"

She was disregarding direct orders from simply standing there, a risk she always seemed more than willing to take with Armin and me. She didn't speak right away and I knew she was looking to me. It was just Nile. Maybe I'd made an error on my field report. Or perhaps this was about the assignment last month with the werewolf boy when Mikasa and I almost didn't make it back because of my stupidity. Why did I hesitate-

I nodded to Mikasa. Everything was fine. Go on to dinner, I tried to convey. We had mastered conversations without words over the years. There was still hesitance in her eyes but she saluted Nile, bumping my elbow with hers as she left. She'd wait for me in the hall.

I approached Nile's desk again, addressing him formally. There was a million and one things that could be wrong. A million and one things that could be right. I knew I shouldn't worry, it was most likely something minor, but I couldn't help fearing my discharge from the Brotherhood; where would I go? My records were wiped when I joined the organization- to the rest of the world, I didn't exist. I was no one. My whole identity rested on the ideals of Hunting. And worst yet, if I was discharged I knew Mikasa would follow of her own volition. She wouldn't leave me to wander alone. My sister would be stuck homeless and starving by my side because of some stupid mistake I made. If only she would listen to me when I tell her not to worry-

Nile withdrew a file from a locked cabinet, setting it on the desk between us.

"You've made a lot of improvement over these past few months, Eren," he began. He paused and I wasn't sure if he wanted me to speak or not. Of all the directions I thought this conversation could go, that was not the opening sentence for any of them.

"Some of the other board members and I have discussed this and, well- to put it simply we think you may have what it takes to become a Squad Leader."

"Me?" I blurted out, pointing to my chest. I knew my eyes were comically wide and my mouth was probably hanging open like a cartoon. Nile didn't even blink at my small outburst. "A Squad Leader?"

"I admit, as an initiate you were hotheaded and quick to retaliate. Nor was group work a particular strong point of yours. But you've grown. You understand the ideals of the organization and there is no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't hesitate to lay your life on the line for our mission. You've become someone the others look to- rely on. You're young but you show all the signs of fulfilling this position optimally."

My heart was in my throat.

Me. Eren Jaeger from some piece of shit dust town out west. The initiate with no talents. A Squad Leader. My face was hot and I could feel myself smile at the off-handed flattery.

"Thank you, sir-"

"But, before any decisions are made by me or the rest of the Board, you have to be tested. Which is why you're going on your first solo assignment."

He nudged the folder on the desk closer to me, gesturing for me to take it.

It was a personal file- a potential threat file, to be specific. The first record was for a man named Levi. His last name was blank, blocked out by white-out. Strange, but I didn't dwell too long on it. The black and white photo beneath his general info was of an older man, clean-cut and irritable looking. He looked like the kind of guy that kicked puppies and yelled at children to get off his lawn. He looked like the kind of guy without a moral compass, that liked to mug the elderly in dark side alleys and stole from his mom's purse.

In short, he looked like a total prick. And if he had caused enough of a ruckus for the Brotherhood to scrap together a PT file on him then I probably wasn't too far off the mark.

There were a few others in the file; a fragile-looking blonde girl with a wide smile and a few serious-faced men scowling at the camera. The personal information was rather brief. A few snap shots of a couple different houses in suburban areas in the southwest. Nothing flashy or suspicious looking on the surface. They had noticed they were being tailed and were careful to cover their tracks, but, according to the last few pages in the folder, they had been spotted further southeast in a large city I'd never heard of. There were grainy photos of the first man entering and exiting a multi-story building. It looked like the office for a large organization. He appeared well dressed, suitcase in hand. They had fled section 11 and appeared to have settled in 7, at least temporarily; they were in our jurisdiction now.

"We have reason to believe they are black magic practitioners but are lacking enough evidence to move forward. The Board will not relent until there is solid proof that they are a threat. Which is going to be your job, Eren."

"Find evidence that they're not human."

I could be a Squad Leader. I could outrank Jean Kirschtein. He'd never live it down. It'd be the best payback possible. Was that a childish way to view this opportunity?

"Exactly. The secondary suspect, Ms. Ral, owns and runs a bed and breakfast with the other four. The arraignments have been made for your stay. You are to report back progress each day- but you'll be reporting to Marlow for the time being. Physical evidence must also be properly documented and returned to us for lab use. You are to only investigate- do not take action under any circumstance, is that clear? Do nothing to bring attention to yourself."

I closed the file, tucking it under my arm. My adrenaline was running. I was ready to go. I was ready to prove myself- that I was good at something, that I didn't need my sister saving me all the time, that I wasn't a loser just riding everyone's coat tails. I was more than just talk and I was ready to prove it.

"When do I leave?"

Nile smirked- never a smile, never- but the shift of expression didn't touch his dark eyes. "Tomorrow morning. I'll send Marlow to escort you. You have four weeks to complete the assignment. And do watch your step down there- I hear that the primary suspect bites."

I showed my respects with a salute, preparing to leave as my mind continued to race at a hundred miles an hour- when a thought occurred to me. It was best to have as much information as possible to complete the mission efficiently. I'd also never been good at keeping my curiosities to myself. "Sir, would it be out of line to ask what raised your suspicions of them to begin with?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with, Eren. You're not there to investigate previous crimes but rather current ones. Besides, since they've relocated from the initial crime scene I doubt there's any evidence of their initial crimes to be found. They would have disposed of it by now. They're not amateurs. Which is why I warn you to be very careful and stay undercover. I can't promise your safety if you're found out. You're walking into a lion's den, Mister Jaeger."

* * *

><p>Mikasa was waiting in the hall, just as I knew she'd be, and she immediately gravitated to my side when I emerged from Nile's office. Her expression was protective, her stance flighty. I spoke without having to hear her question.<p>

"They're giving me a solo assignment!"

My excitement was palpable. I was clutching the file to my chest like a school boy, grinning from ear to ear. I thought Mikasa would be excited with me- it was my chance to move up the ranks!- but she stared at me, the corners of her mouth working as she fought to speak. Her brows were furrowed in a way that didn't sit well with my stomach. The mental expectation of my sister smiling and congratulating me dissipated and took my smile with it.

"Mikasa? What's wrong? Aren't you happy for me?"

She hesitated. "No, sorry- that's great. Where are they sending you?"

Just like that the anxiety in her expression melted away, leaving a cold barrier in its place. I had known Mikasa since I was very young and I had thought we were intertwined, that I could read her, understand her- but as I took in the blankness of her stare I realized I knew nothing of this woman I called my sister.

She reiterated her question and it was my turn to hesitate. Just before leaving Nile warned me to keep the details of my mission to myself. To do otherwise could result in my assignment being revoked and my membership to the Brotherhood reconsidered. I wasn't keen on disobeying direct orders, not when everything was starting to fall in place.

"It's a secret." I tried to laugh but it just sounded forced and corny. Mikasa didn't share in the effort.

Dinner was long and awkward. Mikasa was very detached, eyes lost in her own world. Armin showed up late covered in dirt and grime and barely managed to grab a plate before the kitchens closed. He congratulated me on the new assignment and I saw Mikasa tense at his words even though she was refusing to look up at us. No one thought frozen peas was that interesting. Armin turned his attention to her when she didn't add anything to the conversation of my mission. Whatever went through his head just then I wouldn't know any time soon; he pressed his lips into a thin line, meaning he was filing away his thoughts for a later date. Dinner was quiet after that. I didn't have the heart to ask him about the vampire girl.

It was a few hours short of dawn by the time I set aside the file to retire to bed. I reviewed every bit of text, every minuscule detail. I studied every grainy image until the ink blurred in my vision. I couldn't make any mistakes. Not only was this my foot in the door to prove my worth in the organization, but with one wrong step I could lose my life. I didn't want to imagine having to leave Armin and Mikasa behind. It had always been the three of us, together, and that was the way I wanted it to stay. They were my family. And I wasn't so quick to believe that Mikasa didn't need me as much as I needed her.

The sky was the dark violet of storm clouds when I finally drifted off.

I rose with the sun and packed what few belongings I was permitted to own, most of them basic living items. Since I was flying south I wouldn't really need much in terms of warm clothing but I packed my favourite green hoodie anyway. The sleeve of the left arm was torn and there was an unidentifiable stain on the chest but I could never bring myself to part with it. Mikasa had bought it for me in the in-between years before we were initiates- when we had nothing and she should have been thinking of herself, not a dumb birthday present for me.

Armin was gone on assignment by the time I was preparing to leave. He had left a note with Mikasa, wishing me luck in that hurried handwriting of his- complete with a smiley face. Mikasa seemed rather indifferent throughout the morning routine but upon Marlow's arrival to escort me to the car she wrapped her long arms around my neck and clung for the brief moments we were allowed. She was warm and soft and _god_, I'd miss her. Hugging her felt like home. I wondered what she would be doing in my absence- I _was_ her partner for field assignment. Would she be assigned someone else? I worried that Nile would send her off on a mission that was more than she could handle; she was only human, after all. So many things could happen in a month. I wanted to come back to a safe and happy Mikasa. I wished I had been able to hug Armin as well- just in case.

I told her not to do anything stupid while I was gone. Her smile was tight-lipped. "Same to you, Eren."

As I followed Marlow out front I realized that maybe I wasn't quite as ready to go as I thought I was.

Marlow was as stiff as I remembered. He was kind enough to help me with my bags but small talk was not his forte. The car ride would be long hours in a silent vehicle, watching the scenery pass. Most of it was farmland and back road. I imagined a little man running next to the car, jumping over fences and dodging obstacles like a trained Hunter. The boredom made me antsy and as we entered the city I had taken up shaking my leg and tapping my fingertips along the armrest- but it was all worth it.

If I had thought our base city was sprawling, then this city was a metropolis.

The tops of the buildings were hidden by grey storm clouds, putting a damper on the beautiful glow of the sinking sun mirroring off of the hundreds of windows the streets were lined with, all the way up to the clouds. Street lamps were already lit, but with how many cars were zipping through the city and illuminating the streets with headlights and taillights, it wasn't needed. Everything felt cramped- the sides of businesses and apartments and houses brushing, the alleys cluttered with trash cans. The shops were squished together, one right after another, their patios overflowing with patrons. We passed clubs and subway entrances and restaurants with foreign names I was sure I'd mispronounce. There were so many people everywhere- too many people. For once I wasn't sure if I could handle the city-life. I felt like I couldn't quite breathe in this place.

We took too many turns for me to count, halting as traffic jammed more than once, and ended up on a street that felt almost separate from the rest of it. It felt quieter, slower. The buildings were only a few stories tall each- smaller businesses with cute signs written in chalk and paint out on the sidewalk. Couples enjoying drinks on balconies, a few strolling leisurely here and there. The lights from the windows seemed to softly glow, the contrast less stark than the lights of the main street as night fell. We pulled into a half empty lot hidden down an alley. Marlow assisted in retrieving my bags from the trunk and deposited me on the door step of one of the buildings. He saluted once. I dropped my bags to do the same.

He handed me a manila folder full of loose-leaf pages; addresses and secondary addresses and phone contacts. A report schedule complete with rendezvous points and back-up plans. I was sure Marlow had his own orders for action in case I didn't show.

"Be careful." He and I weren't exactly close friends or anything and his smile was awkward, but I was genuinely thankful for having someone like Marlow close by. I voiced so, watching him visibly relax, before he took his leave. His job was done for now.

This was where mine began. I stood on the steps, probably for far longer than I should have, simply taking it all in. I was nearly twelve hours from home- from Armin and Mikasa- standing on the stoop of the Inn where I would prove my worth to my superiors. Once I stepped inside there was no turning back.

Before I had the chance to move the door opened from the inside, nearly hitting me in the face. I took a stumbling step back as the person apologized profusely. I probably looked terrified- I hadn't expected that. Great start to the mission. _A-plus Hunter status right here_, I told myself sarcastically.

"I saw you standing out here- wasn't sure if you needed a room or directions. You look a little scared. First time in the city?"

I recognized the girl instantly. She was the woman from the second report- Petra Ral. Her photo didn't do her justice. She was radiant even under the dingy street lamps and I'd recognize that smile from a light year away. I'd spent hours memorizing it- the way her lips titled up at the corners and her eyes crinkled. What threw me was the sweet tone of her voice, the kindly look in her eye. When I imagined enemies of the Brotherhood, monsters of any sort, the image in no way aligned with the woman standing before me. It was harder to imagine her as a target as she smiled at me so openly. But, wasn't that how you got trapped?

"Uh, my first time- yeah. I was looking for a place to put up for a while? Don't fancy sleeping in a car," I stuttered my way through, knowing this woman was an enemy. I felt like she could see right through me. But if she was suspicious of me she didn't show it outwardly, gesturing me inside and leading me to the front counter.

She took my information down, smiling all the while. "How long will you be staying?"

I actively reminded myself not to fidget. "A month."

She commented that that seemed like a long while- but it was just idle small talk. There was no accusation behind her friendly smile, no dark hint in her eyes that she knew who I was. I was having trouble speaking to her on normal terms and was more than grateful when she offered to show me to my room. I was sure she could tell.

We passed through the dining area, the kitchens and a few vacant rooms in the first hall. Most doors were closed, occupied by paying customers. The building had obviously been someone's home at some point in time, and I idly wondered about its history. It was cozy. Nile had given me a map of its layout and I tried to follow our path in my memory as we walked. She didn't take me far.

We stopped in front of an open door with the golden number 6 on the outside. The bed inside was freshly made, the window cracked to let in the late summer breeze. I had a nice view of the next street over. Miss Ral made a grand gesture towards the room, encouraging me to make myself at home and reminding me that breakfast was set at 8am. She made to take her leave but as she turned to depart there was a horrible thumping noise coming from down the hall, towards the back of the building, followed by what sounded like the shattering of glass. It startled me into dropping my bag. Petra seemed unfazed but was extremely apologetic.

"I'm so sorry- that's probably one of my business partners, Levi. He's an old friend of mine so I let him live in the first room free-of-charge."

_Levi. The number one threat out of the five, living just down the hall from me. And he sounded destructive._

I froze, not quite breathing. The people who would kill me if they knew who I was, where I was from- they were living so close I could hear and see and touch them. I had no idea what these people were capable of. Petra stood so close she could reach out and grab my throat; there were no passerby in the hall, and I wasn't willing to bet that she was as weak as her slim frame gave the illusion of. And I had no idea where the other three men were. I had the threat of death on all sides. I only now realized how stupid it was, throwing myself into this situation with so little information.

"I'll go tell him to keep it down," Petra finished with an uneasy smile. I noticed she didn't justify the sound with any sort of explanation. I wasn't sure if it was a red-flag or a slip of thought.

She started down the hall toward the back of the house, leaving the door open behind her, and I could hear her knock on someone else's door. Levi's. Another series of thuds, dulled by the barrier of a door. I had yet to move from where I stood, staring into the hall.

"Levi, you're scaring customers!" I heard Petra chide.

The creaking of a door opening followed her comment, the previous noise suddenly gone. I panicked hearing the rough voice of a male bite back something at Miss Ral and used the sharp reflexes my body was conditioned to in training to close the door before I could be seen. I needed a barrier between me and them. I should have been out there, speaking with them and learning about them. Doing my _job_. But, god- I was terrified.

I heard Miss Ral and the assumed business partner pass by my door, their footsteps soft on the wooden flooring. My hands shook. Were they murderers? Did they sacrifice innocent souls or eat human flesh? There were so many unknown factors, so many possibilities. My only drive through this would be the knowledge that I was doing something good- I was protecting people by doing my job. I was the unlikely hero of the story.

I didn't sleep that first night. The bed sheets were soft but I couldn't stop imagining Miss Ral's hands, folding the linen and making the beds; what crimes had those hands committed in their owner's time? My heart was erratic in my chest, fear and longing all at once. I missed Mikasa and Armin.

I resolved to find the four men from the PT file when the sun broke over the cityscape come morning. I dozed off around 4am, eyes glued to the black and white photo of Levi scowling into a camera- Petra, Eld, Oluo and Gunther all lined up next to him. Targets, one right after another.


End file.
